Home Remedy
by LothCat
Summary: Kanan's managed to catch a cold, and there's nothing for it but to wait it out. That doesn't sit well with the rest of the crew, and everyone has their own opinion on the best remedies for it. Gen sickfic.


Kanan did his best to muffle his sneeze, barely a little undignified squeak that hopefully no one heard over the general sounds of the ship from the cockpit. For a moment he thought he'd managed to successfully hide it, then he glanced over to Hera and she was eyeing him suspiciously, lips thin.

"You keep sneezing, are you feeling ok?" Hera asked.

"It's probably nothing, at most it's just a cold. You don't need to worry about it." Kanan said casually, leaning back in the chair and very much not sniffling.

"Have you taken anything for it?" Hera gave him a look like she didn't quite believe him.

"I don't need to, it's just a stuffy nose." Kanan said defensively.

"Uh huh." Hera eyed him again, then looked back out the cockpit window.

Kanan hoped she'd forget, going back to watching the controls and nearly forgetting to stifle the next sneeze. He stayed there mostly just to prove he was fine, before getting up to head back to his room because he wanted to. Not because he needed to blow his nose because it was getting harder and harder to breathe through it, or because his head was starting to ache. He was fine.

* * *

Kanan barely had time to settle into a meditative pose before the door was opening. He opened his eyes, ready to express his displeasure at whoever was barging in.

Hera started setting an entire arm full of pill bottles and packages and bottles of liquid down onto his table.

"What are you doing?" Kanan scowled at the pile.

"Getting your cold medicine for you, since you won't do it yourself." Hera said firmly, getting the last of the containers onto the table. "Here's the decongestant, and here's for body aches, this one is for headaches. Here's for suppressing a cough, here is for thinning the mucus to make it easier to expel, this one's a vitamin supplement as various deficiencies can slow recovery time, these three are various herbal remedies that boost immune response, this one's a mild stimulant to counteract the others making you drowsy during the day. These are teas that will soothe your throat, and cough drops."

Kanan could feel his expression getting more and more panicked during the long list.

"That's… I can't take that many pills." Kanan protested.

"Oh, and these are to prevent indigestion from some of the others." Hera uncovered one of the bottles that had fallen under a box.

"If I ineed/i one of them, I'll take them, but I'm not taking a bunch of medicine just for the sake of taking them." Kanan crossed his arms stubbornly, and then severely undermined the effect by sniffing.

"Uh huh, you better. If you're showing any symptoms you're not going on missions. You're staying on ship." Hera didn't look impressed, starting towards the door.

"What? That's not… that makes no sense. I can do whatever I need to just…" He made a face, trying not to sneeze. ''Just fine."

"My ship, my rules. Either take your medicine or wait it out." Hera warned.

"I'll wait. It'll probably pass by tonight, you'll see. It's really not a big deal. " Kanan waved a hand, even as Hera let the door close behind her leaving him alone. He scowled at the closed door, then grabbed a handful of tissues to mop his nose, determinedly ignoring the giant pile of medicine. It was a headcold, he'd be fine.

* * *

"Hera says you're sick and refusing to take anything for it." Sabine cornered Kanan in the galley, he'd just wanted to get something to drink.

"Hera's got a big mouth." Kanan muttered, then a little more loudly. "She's making a big deal out of nothing. "

"I agree." Sabine said, and Kanan tried not to look startled.

"You do?" He asked.

"I do, you're probably one of those people that no matter how few side effects the medicine is supposed to have, they still mess with your concentration, right? So you'd rather be miserable than unable to focus." Sabine toyed with a small shot glass she was carrying.

"Right." Kanan relaxed a little, managing not to clear his throat. It wouldn't actually ease the achy feeling, only make it worse, but it felt like it would. "Think she'll listen if we're both arguing that point?"

"Not really, no, but I made you this." Sabine held out the shot glass. "Home remedy, nothing to wire you up or make you fuzzy headed, but it works like a charm. I learned the recipe on Mandalore ages ago, everyone swore by it at the academy when you needed to make it to class but didn't want the med droids drugging you up. You'll want to knock it back though."

"That bad huh?" Kanan eyed the shot glass, and then figured there was no harm in it. It was probably mostly alcohol, which would likely be more than enough to get an academy student buzzed sufficiently to ignore cold symptoms for a while. Such a small amount wasn't likely to do much for him, but it wouldn't hurt anything and might help his throat. He tipped it back, trying to swallow without tasting it.

He'd expected an alcohol burn. He hadn't expected to feel like he'd just poured red hot molten metal down his throat. He gasped, tears immediately springing to his eyes at the searing heat. He was dying, and Sabine didn't even seem concerned.

Sabine started talking again, apparently unaware that she'd just tried to kill him. "I was so glad I was able to find Concordia Reaper peppers during one of our supply runs. Dried they keep for years and years, and none of the other peppers I've tried have the same heat. I'd end up needing twice as many and… Kanan?"

Kanan shoved past her to grab up a cup, managing to gasp out something very close to 'water' as he shoved the cup in the sink and then downed the contents in several long swallows. It helped the heat a little, but not much. He seriously considered sticking his head under the sink and just drinking straight from it while he waited for the cup to fill. Tears were still streaming down his face, his nose was running, and he was fairly sure he was still dying, it was just taking far too long for his liking.

"Oh, right, it takes a little getting used to. After a minute or two you'll be feeling a lot better, trust me." Sabine patted his back where he was bent over the sink. "I'll leave you to it."

Kanan didn't try to stop her from leaving, he was afraid if he tried he might manage to do something he'd regret. Finally after a few more cups of water the wildfire in his mouth and throat faded into just a dull burn. He scrubbed his face in the sink, sniffing experimentally. It seemed almost adding insult to injury that his nose was clear after that. He was fairly sure the liquid peppers had scorched out his sinuses in the process, but he could breathe. It wasn't worth it, it wasn't worth it in the slightest.

Kanan gathered up the few shreds of his dignity remaining, glad that Sabine had been the only witness to the horror involved in her home remedy.

Kanan wasn't sure if someone else (Hera) had told Chopper to keep tabs on him, or if the cantankerous droid had taken it on himself to follow him around and stay annoying close while he worked on his speeder bike. It wasn't quite as nice as the one he had before, but with a little work it would perform just as well, and it was something he could do that wasn't technically work. In the end it didn't matter if Chopper had been ordered or decided on his own to shadow him, he wasn't leaving.

A long line of beeping

"I have a cold, and no fever. It's right in the name. Corellian Fever." Kanan was going to get revenge on whoever decided to upload an entire medical encyclopedia to the droid.

More beeping

"That… humans can't even get that."

"… The indigestion wasn't even part of my cold, that was from Sabine's attempts to treat it. And I don't want to know how you even knew about that."

"If I had that I'd be dead already. Still alive, it's just a cold."

"It's not a tumor."

"No, the reason I have a headache is because you won't stop talking to me. It's not a tumor."

"That doesn't even fit most of the symptoms."

"That also isn't something humans get."

"Yes I'm sure I'm human."

"No, I'm not hiding symptoms because they're embarrassing. It's just a cold."

"I'm going to ignore you now."

"…"

"…"

"If you don't stop listing off possible illnesses at me I'm going to use this toolkit on you and you're not going to be happy with the results."

"Unusual irritability is not a symptom it's a normal reaction to others being irritating."

"Trying to zap me is not a diagnostic technique!"

* * *

"Of the ridiculous and unasked for medical advice I've gotten over the past 48 hours, yours is probably the most tolerable." Kanan admitted to Zeb, sinking down a little further in the tub of hot water. It had a sharp medicinal scent he couldn't quite place, but the heat and the steam was doing an excellent job of clearing his sinuses, and the bath was relaxing. The medicinal scent also helped cover up the smell of wet Lasat, where Zeb lounged nearby on one of the wooden benches in the sauna. It wasn't the best smell in the world, but Kanan wasn't going to complain. No Hera hounding him to take proper medication, no Sabine with whatever unholy concoctions she swore would fix his symptoms, no Chopper, and no Ezra being… well, Ezra. The peace and quiet was well worth a little wet-Lasat smell. The hot water was also doing a great job loosening up muscles that even stretching and meditation hadn't quite been able to fully relax.

"Not as nice as some I've been in, but it'll do the trick." Zeb said lazily, and Kanan hmmed quietly in agreement.

Zeb had apparently insisted to Hera that they needed to visit somewhere with a proper bathhouse to soak out the cold and she'd agreed to it. Kanan wasn't going to argue, it wasn't really out of their way and there was enough of a market nearby to make it a supply run. As long as no one got into any trouble it should work out. Kanan didn't have any illusions that it was actually going to speed up his recovery, some things just needed time, but it felt nice and finally relaxing seemed to have gotten rid of the almost-headache he'd been carrying.

"Let me know when you start getting too hot and you're ready to cool off." Zeb said.

"Just about." Kanan admitted. "I can get myself out though." He started to stand up and was about halfway out when a large hand grabbed his arm.

"Come on." Zeb said, and Kanan found himself being tugged away from the showers and towards the door. To the porch. The very snow covered porch. He'd assumed that it was just in use during warmer months, but as the door opened he could see the walkway had been cleared and there was a large pool of very cold looking water.

"What? Oh no. I don't know what you think you're doing, but…" Kanan tried to pull free, but Zeb's grip was like durasteel.

"Part two, first you sweat the cold out for a while, then you shock your system good to make sure everything's on alert and doing its job." Zeb said far too casually as he hauled the wet struggling Jedi towards the pool.

"Oh no, no shocking. Just the soaking's fine. ZEB!" Kanan struggled, if Zeb just let go for a moment maybe he could get free. He was overheated enough from the hot water that even being soaking wet and in wet shorts wasn't too bad, but he knew the cold water would be worse.

No luck, Zeb didn't even bother dropping him, he just stepped off and into the icy pool, dragging Kanan with him.

There was a splash and it briefly took Kanan's breath away. The cold was like a punch, and his teeth were chattering by the time Zeb hauled them both back out to start back inside.

"I changed my mind. I hate you. I'll get even, just you wait." Kanan threatened between chattering teeth as he finally got back to the tub of hot water, quickly sinking in up to his neck and then quietly yelping as his chilled skin tingled with pins and needles from the sudden temperature change.

"Oh shut up." Zeb grumbled, looking far too smug as he sunk down in the hot water with him, flexing his fingers under the water. "You'll thank me when you're feeling better."

"Not a chance." Kanan glared, and the fuzzy purple bastard just laughed.

* * *

Kanan carefully felt out into the rest of the ship to make sure it was safe before he left his room. His cold was almost gone, no more sore throat or headache, just a little lingering stuffy nose and the occasional sneeze. He still wasn't about to risk running into someone else until he was entirely sure he could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt he was well and didn't need any blasted help of any kind.

The coast clear, he made it to the galley to get his hot mug of instant soup and did not flee back to his room. He just beat a strategic retreat back to it.

Kanan opened the door, starting to step through, and then he frowned. Ezra looked up guiltily from where he had started to open one of Kanan's storage compartments.

"Uuh, hi, I was just…" Ezra started, and Kanan held up a hand, stopping him.

"Look, I don't care. I don't care what you think I have, what you think I need. I don't care what cure-alls they had back on Lothal that probably involved loth-cat spit. I have been badgered, harassed, spent hours shitting fire, and been dunked in ice water. I'm done. Out." Kanan pointed to the door, trying not to cough from raising his voice.

"But I…" Ezra tried again.

"You're my padawan, so you I can order around. I don't want to hear it." Kanan crossed his arms, glaring.

Ezra hugged, glaring right back. "Fine!" He straightened up and started to walk past Kanan and out when a sudden sneeze caught him off guard. Ezra stumbled with the force of it, barely getting his arm up in time to try unsuccessfully to muffle it.

Kanan paused at that, reaching out to grip Ezra's shoulder. "Hey, wait."

Ezra stopped, still looking guarded. "What?"

"Did you catch my cold?" Kanan asked, looking over Ezra's face.

Ezra looked away. "No." Then he brought a hand up quickly to scrub at his nose. "Ok, maybe. Look. I just wanted to see if the meds were in here so I could take something before anyone else noticed. I can leave."

Kanan sighed, letting go of his shoulder with a gentle pat. "I'll get them for you. And you can hide in here until they kick in."

"Really?" Ezra brightened at that, started to say something only to get a funny look on his face. Kanan recognized it easily enough, grabbing for his tissue stash. He didn't quite make it in time and Ezra sneezed harshly into the crook of his arm again, making an unhappy sound afterwards. But Kanan at least had them waiting for when he looked back up.

Ezra grabbed the tissues, mopping at his face. "Thanks. And… yeah, thank you. I really don't want to get dunked in ice water."

"Don't mention it." Kanan felt his lips twitch in a small smile. Well, misery loved company after all. "As far as anyone else knows, we're catching up on some of the training you missed while I was sick." He started looking through one of the storage compartments where he'd shoved the small mountain of medication. Not the same one that Ezra had been trying to search earlier, but it had been a good guess.

Ezra nodded, sitting down on Kanan's bunk, reaching out to take the decongestant pills when Kanan handed them over. Kanan sat down close by, finally getting to take a sip of his soup.

"Of course that won't entirely be a lie. I'm not going to make you do too much, but there's a lot of theory and history we can cover." Kanan grinned at Ezra's theatrical groan, and then frowned and tried to move his soup out of reach when Erza grabbed for it.

"What? I need something to take these pills with, swallowing them dry sucks. I already caught your cold anyway." Ezra argued, Kanan kept the mug out of reach.

"I'll get you some water, or tea if you want something hot. But this is mine." Kanan got up to grab a cup of water, handing it over.

Ezra took the pills without complaint, setting the water down carefully and then grabbing for more tissues in time to catch another sneeze. This time it was followed by a flurry of friends and Ezra was gasping by the time he was done and could finally breathe. Kanan patted his back sympathetically, then he was grabbing for a tissue himself when the soup steam made his nose start running again.

"At least it's only a few days of this?" Ezra asked, sounding a little pitiful.

"Yeah, you'll be feeling better before you know it. Don't worry too much. Just… Ezra?"

"Yeah?" Ezra blinked.

"If Sabine offers you anything to drink. Run."


End file.
